Eminent Domain

Staring in the face of a referendum that would have overturned its decision, the City Council changed its mind Monday about buying Downtown residential properties by force. 'The council is responsive to the will of the people,' City Councilman Tom Harman said. 'They're getting what they wanted.' By a 4-0 vote, the council repealed an ordinance passed in October that would have allowed the city to use the power of eminent domain over nine apartments above El Don liquor store in the 400 block of Pacific Coast Highway.

Eron Ben-Yehuda HUNTINGTON BEACH -- A group fighting to stop the city from buying Downtown homes by force has collected more than half the signatures necessary to qualify for a referendum, organizers said. Huntington Beach Citizens Against Redevelopment Excess must gather 10,000 names by Nov. 18 to qualify for the March ballot. Group leader Jim Lane said more than 5,000 petitioners have already signed, and a big push this weekend should bring in a few thousand more.

I am opposed to the exercise of eminent domain at all times and at all places. Eminent domain was originated at a time in history for a need which has long since passed. The use of eminent domain is no longer the taking of private property for public use, but has become the theft of private property by government officials to give to other individuals for private use. ISABELLE PARIKH Huntington Beach The City Council is at it again. From the Labor Day opening of polluted beach waters, to the $20,000 pat-on-the-back city party at the taxpayers' expense, to the terrifying idea of wrecking the coastline between 11th and Goldenwest streets in order to cram in RV parking and fire pits.

FEDERAL MONEY The council delayed a vote on federal allocations after staff members requested the item be pulled and re-noticed for the Oct. 17 meeting. The council was being asked to approve a five-year consolidated plan to lay out the city's annual appropriation of federal dollars from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. WHAT IT MEANS This is another item tacked onto the Poseidon conditional use permit public hearing.

Eron Ben-Yehuda A group determined to suspend the city's power to purchase Downtown residential properties by force has collected enough signatures to qualify for a ballot initiative, organizers said this week. Huntington Beach Cares turned over to the City Clerk Tuesday about 18,000 names of registered voters, nearly twice the number required for a referendum, group leader Jim Lane said. The strong showing indicates the vigorous opposition to the "evil" ordinance passed by the council last month, he said.

AT ISSUE: Last week's story, "Council pursues buying out some Downtown homes" prompted a few readers to send us their thoughts on the city's move to reinstate eminent domain authority in some Downtown areas. Let me give you the scenario of city government for the people and by the people. The people, or the electorate in this case, elect the City Council to run their city. In turn, they hire a city administrator, who hires the department heads, who hires the staff and employees that work for the people of the city.

Eron Ben-Yehuda A group gathering signatures for a referendum to stop the city from buying Downtown homes by force has come under fire for allegedly making false statements to potential voters. "It's so inappropriate that they're misleading people to get them to sign their petition," Main Street businessman and resident Howard Makler said. "It's really not fair. It's certainly not right." Although only nine apartments on the 400 block of Pacific Coast Highway are threatened by eminent domain, City Clerk Connie Brockway received a letter stating that a signature gatherer had claimed hundreds of homes were at risk.

John Sisker There is no doubt in my mind that the Huntington Beach City Council is going to reinstate eminent domain procedures for residential property that they simply want to take. In spite of the overwhelming opposition to this procedure during the public comment session at the last City Council meeting, I felt such concerns were totally falling upon deaf ears. From my experience in the planning field, I know very well that such decisions by some politicians are made long before anyone even has the opportunity to utter the first word at any public comment session.

Here are some items the council considered at its Monday meeting. HISTORIAN The Council voted 5-2 to accept recommendations from the city Historic Resources Board on how to choose a new city historian. Applicants will have to be 5-year residents of Huntington Beach, show their knowledge of local history in an essay, and pass an evaluation in archiving, writing, research and customer service. The appointment will last four years, renewable by the City Council. WHAT IT MEANS The city has been without a historian since November, when the last person in the position, former City Clerk Alicia Wentworth, died of heart failure.

Colette Chaillou has been a resident at Pacific Mobile Home Park for more than 20 years. Over the years, she built many memories and a well-kept garden full of lilacs, roses and orchids. But she may have to let it all go. "I don't think it's right," she said as she sat on her couch on a Monday afternoon caressing her dog, Misty. "This is my home, my place. My little garden is here. " Huntington Beach is in the middle of plans to widen Atlanta Avenue where the mobile home park meets the corner of Huntington Street and Atlanta.

Americans believe that, as citizens of this great land, we are entitled to certain natural rights, such as life, liberty and the right to own property. These civil liberties are, in part, what differentiate us from other nations and have deep roots. John Locke’s “Second Treatise on Government” and later Benjamin Franklin and Samuel Adams’ “Natural Rights of the Colonists as Men” expressed the importance to our earliest citizens that these rights are assured.

Here are some items the council considered at its Monday meeting. HISTORIAN The Council voted 5-2 to accept recommendations from the city Historic Resources Board on how to choose a new city historian. Applicants will have to be 5-year residents of Huntington Beach, show their knowledge of local history in an essay, and pass an evaluation in archiving, writing, research and customer service. The appointment will last four years, renewable by the City Council. WHAT IT MEANS The city has been without a historian since November, when the last person in the position, former City Clerk Alicia Wentworth, died of heart failure.

Lou and I are in agreement about the various statewide environmental propositions on the ballot this year. Proposition 84 We support Prop 84. One of the largest blocks of funding in this bond measure is targeted to the repair of levees in the critical Bay-Delta region of central California. This levee system should never have been built in the first place, but now it has become an essential part of the hydrology of the Sacramento River, the San Joaquin River, San Francisco Bay and the California Aqueduct that provides drinking water to Southern California.

FEDERAL MONEY The council delayed a vote on federal allocations after staff members requested the item be pulled and re-noticed for the Oct. 17 meeting. The council was being asked to approve a five-year consolidated plan to lay out the city's annual appropriation of federal dollars from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. WHAT IT MEANS This is another item tacked onto the Poseidon conditional use permit public hearing.

Marinapark. Triangle Square. St. Andrew's Church. Soccer fields. More and more the issues of land and facilities management will command our attention. In some case, these discussions will center on a fixed facility, such as the proposed expansion of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church or the future of Triangle Square or Marinapark. The question for these facilities is: "We have the location, but what are we supposed to do with it?" In other cases, the discussion will be open-ended, and the question will be: "We have a need (such as more soccer fields)

Jenny Marder The city will appeal a superior court order that demanded it approve a water pipeline to the proposed Brightwater development or give explicit reasons as to why it is denying it. A judge ruled last month that the City Council needs to reconsider its Aug. 4, 2003, denial of a franchise agreement with Southern California Water to allow for a seven-mile pipeline that would deliver water to the 388 homes...

Bryce Alderton Design plans are in the final stages for the much anticipated redevelopment of the Huntington Center Mall into an Italian outdoor entertainment center. Every two weeks since October, Huntington Beach Planning Director Howard Zelefsky has met with architects from The Jerde Partnership and co-developers at The J.H. Snyder Co. and The Ezralow Co., in hopes of getting mall plans approved by April. "We're going layer by layer and it's in the last stage of design of the site," Zelefsky said.

Tariq Malik HUNTINGTON BEACH -- The city will not use eminent domain to remove two businesses from Huntington Center to make way for a new upscale shopping destination, though the decision was far from unanimous. With a 3-3 vote Monday, the City Council was deadlocked over the idea of using the city's power to oust Burlington Coat Factory and Wards from the 30-year-old Huntington Center at Beach Boulevard and Edinger Avenue. Council members Ralph Bauer, Shirley Dettloff and Tom Harman approved of the use of eminent domain, while Councilwoman Pam Julien and Councilmen Peter Green and Dave Sullivan dissented.